The present invention relates to a tray-loading machine and is particularly applicable to a machine for loading cups of dairy products into carrier trays having individual cutouts for receiving the cups.
Prior to the present invention, cups of dairy products were loaded into such trays by pickup mechanisms which lifted the cups from a feed conveyor belt and deposited the cups into the cutout receptacles in the carrier trays. The prior art tray-loading machines required precise adjustment to guard against damage to the cups of dairy products and were expensive to purchase, operate and maintain.
The present invention provides a tray-loading machine which is substantially less expensive than the prior art tray-loading machines and yet is fully effective in operation and use to load cups of dairy products into trays without damaging the cups of dairy products and also without causing the products to spill or splash during tray loading.
More particularly, the present invention provides a tray-loading machine which receives the cups of dairy products from the filling machine, operates to align the cups side-by-side in transverse rows and thereafter to deposit the rows of cups into the carrier trays in continuous operation.